I didn't have much experience with were-creatures. Some acted with a great number of their animalistic characteristics in their human form, which I liked. That helped me classify them, understand them, and compartmentalize how they acted for later use. Unfortunately, the humans were always easier to handle considering their use of the English language. But the flipside? Animals didn't lie, they couldn't. Their eyes could cloud, they could try and control instincts and actions but it didn't happen often, no. Wolves were a different story, for me. I had too much experience with them... You could watch their tails move, their teeth bare, their hackles rise, sinister dreams behind their eyes... No animal like that would want to be caged.

The woman's reaction to the bars around her brought a smile to my face. It didn't reach my eyes, and she probably wouldn't like that. Animals seemed to understand the sincerity or ingenuity of actions; I could only imagine how she saw my squared shoulders, and a different silver dagger than the one she desired twirling around my fingers with ease. She wouldn't like that, probably not at all. That bit was pretty amusing, bringing the smile wider. Her yelp only made me successful, gave me control over the next sequence of events.

"Did you, now?"

I sounding mocking, I'm sure. The smile was gone from my face as quickly as the words were understood... That pack had haunted darker dreams of mine for years. Perhaps the were-wolf in my shop, in my cage... Perhaps she shared some of those darker dreams. I tapped the dagger to my lips thoughtfully as one might their fingers, starting to walk around the shop. Pacing helped recollection start, almost as abruptly as the wolf had jumped on my desk. The scent of fresh blood, the full moon... The scene was vivid with my eyes shut, the dagger still against my lips. Corinth had been beautiful, almost ethereal... She never deserved to die under the teeth of wretched wolves.

"No complaining about lack of family. If you say you killed the entire pack, then you brought that one on yourself little puppy," I said, the grin returning. She managed to pull the dagger out of her tail which is fine, but this whining business? I could do without. I had planned to let her take it, especially after the first sentence she had uttered once captured. I had doubts believing her, but that wouldn't have been strange considering she was small, and the dullness behind her eyes told me she lacked a passion to commit such a crime. Then again, maybe the were-wolves kept their human eyes, and they could lie.

I wouldn't be surprised.

She said she wasn't afraid, but I wasn't convinced totally of that either. Fear takes many forms. Maybe the were-whatevers couldn't describe their emotions properly. I sighed, relinquishing the dagger in my hand back to the dust it had been arranged from, along with the bars. She wasn't going to hurt me, she wasn't going anywhere. I had given her something she wanted, but while curiosity had a way of killing a cat, a wolf's attention it might catch.

"If you sit, stay, and turn human I'll give you a treat."